


Ishvalan Language Dictionary & Language Building

by rokosourobouros



Series: Lux Sanguinum, Nox Animorum [3]
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types
Genre: Conlanging, Gen, Ishbal | Ishval, Meta, Metafiction, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-11
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:54:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23587204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rokosourobouros/pseuds/rokosourobouros
Summary: It's not a fanfiction, but it sure is fan meta. A running meta-accompaniment to Hero of the People, collecting the grammar and vocabulary for the Ishvalan language and its related creole, Ishvarite.The Ishvalan conlang and Ishvarite are FREE TO USE WITH CREDIT. Just link back to this if you use Ishvalan-C or Ishvarite-C in your fics! Also, if you have suggestions, feel free to comment - major grammatical underlyings probably won't change, but idioms, vocab, roots, etc. will likely get added as we go.
Series: Lux Sanguinum, Nox Animorum [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1744609
Comments: 4
Kudos: 21





	1. ALPHABET & PHONOLOGY

**Author's Note:**

> This conlang is created specifically for the fic 'Hero of the People' by rokosourobouros (me!), which is a conglomeration of FMA:Brotherhood, FMA 2003 and original worldbuilding. That means there are terms in here that may not make sense to use in an exclusively Brotherhood- or 2003-canon fic. Use or drop terms as necessary for your specific usage. 
> 
> The language(s) here are inspired heavily by many across the globe, but most notably Ancient Greek, Hebrew, Arabic, Japanese and several indigenous languages including Inuktitut, Mohawk and Algonquin. I aim to treat these languages with respect, and please be aware of the influences and histories of these languages when commenting and/or using the conlang.

BASICS:

The Ishvalan language is very much like the Semitic family of languages, which includes Aramaic, Amharic, Hebrew and Arabic. Like these languages, Ishvalan builds words out of groups of two, three, or four consonants, between which vowels are inserted to form different meanings. (ex. M-W-N, the root for 'clean', gives us the words for washbasin - _mehweinu,_ the state of holiness/sacredness - _imwana,_ the chosen people - _imwan' ,_ cleanliness or purity - _mawan'._ ) It also uses prefixes, suffixes and inserted words to assign grammatical meaning. 

Ishvalan does not have an indefinite article, and while it does have a copula (to be, "I am X", "X is Y") it is often omitted for implied meaning. It is a primarily analytic language, which means that the grammar and relationships between words are most commonly conveyed with separate **helper words** and **markers.** However, there are a number of compound words, which lean more towards fusional languages (that is, the morphemes involved in the compounding are changed in the process.) 

Ishvalan has four **tenses** ( _past perfect, imperfect, present_ and _future_ ), four **moods** ( _indicative_ , _imperative_ , _subjunctive_ , _optative_ ), two **genders** ( _masculine/neutral_ and _feminine_ ) and three **numbers** ( _singular, dual_ , _plural_ ). 

Ishvalan creates adjectival forms with the attachment of the prefix _zuro-._ There will be more specifics on adjectives later. 

ALPHABET

The Ishvalan 'alphabet' is actually comprised of two parts, the SHAVELA and the EIVAI. The _shavela_ is the consonantal alphabet, named such after the first three letters _sh, v, l._ (These three letters also make the root SH-V-L that gives the words for God, home, people, country and other concepts of great importance.)

The _shavela_ is as follows, roughly transcribed in the Amestrian alphabet. It has 20 letters total.

SH - SHARU - like in _shout_

V - VELE - like in _very_

L - LAMEI - like in _love_  
  
B - BARUN - like in _brother_

M - MARUN - like _most_

Z - ZARU - like in _zero_

G - GORO - like in _get_

K - KORO - like in _catch_

DG - DGANO - like in _edge_

D - DARA - like in _door_

N - NARA - like in _not_

S - SIKA - like in _snake_

NG - NGOTA - like in _hang_

P - PURI - like in _part_

R - RURI - like in _rue_

W - WASZI - like in _water_

T - TOINE - like in _time_

TH - THIEKE - like in _thank_

H - HIBE - like in _how_

SZ - SZON - like in _apples_

The secondary alphabet, the _eivai,_ comprises the vowel sounds. In holy Ishvalan texts, the vowels are not written; however, in more casual texts, the vowels are indicated with diacritics that are slowly being adapted into Ishvalan writing at large.

EI - EIKA - like in _pay  
_

AI - AIBAN - like in _fight_

E - EMEB - like in _ever_ (first sound)

A - ARUN - like in _father_

AE - AESA - like in _apple_

J/Y - JUFI - like in _yes_

U - UMEI - like in _too_

OI - OIKHE - like in _boy_

O - OTSE - like in _otter_

OH - OHSE - like in _goat_

I - IBBE - like in _if_

IE - IEKE - like in _deed_

The _eivai_ is not numbered - however, the _shavela_ is numbered from 1-20, and certain numbers are considered more auspicious than others. For example, six is considered auspicious since it is the addition of the letters of the name of God - SH-V-L. The _shavela'_ s letters also have separate meanings - for example, the _zaru_ both as a letter and a word on its own means life, and the root for life/growth is Z-R-R, whereas the _szon_ as a letter and a word means ending, death or departure, and the root that means the same thing is SZ-N-H. Relatedly, the _szon_ is the marker for plurals of more than two, and the only direct suffix in the Ishvalan language - that is, the only morpheme to attach to the end of a word. 

ISHVARITE & OTHER DIALECTS

Due to Amestrian occupation and the need to communicate with outsiders, there is a secondary language in Ishval - Ishvarite, a Creole that came into being from the pidgin used between Amestrian traders and native Ishvalans. Ishvarite is mostly Amestrian in vocabulary, but uses some Ishvalan terms and quite a bit of Ishvalan grammar. Throughout this document, there will be references to where certain terms are adopted or adapted into Ishvarite. 

Lior, Youswell (originally Wusele) and Xenotime (originally Kenosza) no longer speak languages related to Ishvalan, but their dialects of Amestrian have surviving loanwords and inflections from their particular dialects.


	2. MORPHOLOGY, PT 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Three sample morphologies, mostly religious, and examples of how some of those words appear in Ishvarite with explanations of cultural context.

Ishvalan morphology can be somewhat complex - vowel patterns are in some contexts associated with certain word types and groups, and other times follow no discernable or obvious logic. In general, however, most follow the same rules.

1\. One vowel per 'place' within a root structure - that is, diphthongs beyond the existing prescribed sounds are not created, nor are dual vowel sounds that create more than one syllable. Vowel sounds prior to a consonant do not count for this rule - for example, _dara_ may be preceded and followed by vowels, e.g. 'ida', but not followed by two separate ones, e.g. 'dau' pronounced as 'd-a-u'. 

2\. Glottal stops occur almost exclusively at the ends of words, with exceptions for certain compound words. They exist to mark certain places in stems where a third or fourth vowel would be and replaces it instead with a sharp stop of air that can also be pronounced as a schwa. This is not considered a letter in its own right, but a piece of punctuation or grammar known in Ishvalan as the _kodet'._

3\. Verb infinitives end with -ai. The most common consonant/glottal stop endings are m, n, l, t, p, and b. Others are less common.

4\. Certain vowel patterns are commonly associated with certain groups. For example, Xe-Xei-Xu is often used for large, physical objects, and AX-XA-X' is often used for an adjectival noun - a adjective phrase where the noun can be anything (compare _khashval,_ which can be used for a strange place, a strange person, a strange device, with no change to the word itself).

Sample morphology #1: SH-V-L.

The Sharu-Vele-Lamei (SH-V-L) root is considered the most sacred within Ishvalan cosmology and religion. The root on its own means home/country/god, variably, and the resulting words include:

 **Ishvala** (ISH-VA*-LA) - the name of God, God (masc; can be fem)  
 **Ishval** (ISH*-VA-L') - country, our country (fem)  
 **Sheveilu** (SHE-VEI*-LU) - house, home, physical house (fem)  
 **Khashval** (KHA*-SH-VA-L') - stranger, a thing that is a strange, a place that is strange (masc)  
 **Ashval** ' (ASH*-VAL') - known being, known thing (masc)  
 **Shavulai** (SHA-VU*-LAI) to return home, to do homecoming, to do pilgrimage  
 **Ashevelai** (A-SHE*-VE-LAI) - to invite  
 **Khashavulai** (KHA-SHA*-VU-LAI) - to estrange/make distant/make self distant (immediately reflexive)  
 **Shavelai** (SHA-VE*-LAI) - to spell, to write

Stresses are marked with asterisks. In words with three or four syllables, the stress usually falls on the second syllable. In words with two syllables, the stress usually falls on the first syllable - ex. ISH-val vs. ish-VA-la. 

ISHVARITE NOTES:

In Ishvarite, _khashval_ \- which denotatively and in Ishvalan means any strange thing or person - has the specific meaning of an Amestrian or any non-Ishvalan. In slang and casual usage, it is shortened to _khashie,_ which can also be used as a somewhat pejorative adjective. (Compare: Mexican _gringo,_ Jewish _goy/goyim/goyische,_ Romani _gadje/gadjo_ ) Complaints about khashie food or khashie soldiers are common, as well as the time-honored prank of convincing Amestrians it is a compliment. 

Relatedly, the term _ashval_ has transferred almost unchanged as a title for elders in Ishvalan diaspora communities. After the disruption of the priestly castes, it became common practice to use Ashval' as a casual but respectful title, akin to 'sir', 'honoured elder', or 'sensei'. Priests and monks who wished not to be identified would also use the title of Ashval in place of their priest titles. 

The Lioran, Youswell/Wusele and Xenotime/Kenosza versions of these are numerous. The Lioran name for Amestrians, while fallen mostly into disuse until the rebellion, is _gashal;_ Youswell and Xenotime's languages are more closely related, and use a blend of Amestrian and their language to give the term _kashman,_ usually misread and misunderstood as 'cashman'. Appropriate, in both settlements' cases, and possibly deliberate. 

Sample morphology #2: N-V-T

Another core concept in Ishvalan religion is the idea of honour and worship. To pray, to worship and to honour/respect are all very closely interrelated ideas; the root for all of them is the same, Nara-Vele-Toine (N-V-T). Some of the words that come from this root are:

 **Nevatai** (NE*-VA-TAI) - to pray  
 **Navat** ' (NA*-VA-T') - temple (fem)  
 **Khanuvet** ' (KHA*-NU-VE-T') - heretic (masc)  
 **Khanehvitai** (KHA-NEH*-VI-TAI) - to dishonour/disrepect  
 **Khanevitai** (KHA-NE-VI*-TAI) - to desecrate  
 **Invata** (IN-VA*-TA) - holy ground (masc)  
 **Anvat** ' (AN*-VA-T') - honoured/respected  
 **Khanvat** ' (KH-AN*-VA-T') - dishonoured/disrepected  
 **Anvehtai** (AN-VEH*-TAI) - to honour/respect, to show honour/respect  
 **Neveitu** (NE-VEI*-TU) - statue, icon (masc)

A few new phonology concepts show up here; most significantly, the hibe (H). When H shows up at the end of a syllable, it indicates aspiration, which can change the meaning of a word. _Khanehvitai_ and _khanevitai_ are pronounced very similarly, but one has an aspiration and the other does not, and they have accents on different syllables. In this case, their meanings are similar, but _khanevitai_ has a much more extreme meaning. To dishonour or disrespect somebody in Ishvalan culture is a gaffe, albeit a serious one; to desecrate something is unholy, and usually implies some active destruction. One would hope you know which one you mean in any given context. 

In terms of morphology, this appeared above as well, but the morpheme kh- or kha- is a negative indicator. There are others, but kh(a)- is the most common by far. 

ISHVARITE NOTES:

Ishvalans tend to keep their religious words away from Amestrian ears if possible, but the main word from this group that has made it into Ishvarite is _khanuvet._ Much like _khashval,_ it is a pejorative term, but not just for Amestrians. _Khanuvet_ or _khanuvetosz_ is used to refer to alchemists, particularly State Alchemists, to reflect the Ishvalan hatred for alchemy especially as a weapon. The term _khanuvetai,_ while not actually attested in Ishvalan itself, is a verb in Ishvarite to refer to State Alchemist alchemy as a particular brand of unholy magic. (Ishvalan itself has another set of words to refer to alchemy that are less explicitly judgmental, but the Ishvalans have earned the right to their bitterness towards the Amestrian State - and then some.) 

Sample morphology #3: M-W-N

Continuing the theme of Ishvalan religion as a driving principle behind their language, the third sample root is Marun-Waszi-Nara (M-W-N) - meaning cleanliness, holiness or purity. In Ishvalan religion, similar to Romani, Hebrew and Muslim religious thought, cleanliness is a driving force. It is not a coincidence that all of these cultures originated in hot climates in which rot and decay were pervasive concerns. Some of the resulting words are as follows:

 **Mehweinu** (MEH-WEI*-NU) - washbasin, sink (fem)  
 **Imwana** (IM-WA*-NA) - the state of holiness/sacredness/purity (masc)  
 **Imwan** ' (IM*-WAN') - the chosen people, Ishvalans (masc)  
 **Mawan** ' (MA*-WAN') - cleanliness, holiness, purity (fem)  
 **Khamwehn** ' (KH-AM*-WEH-N') - contamination, uncleanness (masc)  
 **Khaiwoni** (KHAI-WO*-NI) - contaminated person (depends on person being referred to; default masc)  
 **Khamwana** (KHAM-WA*-NA) - the state of contamination or uncleanness (masc)  
 **Khamuhwin** (KHA-MUH-WI-N') - rot, decay, physical dirt, mold on food (fem)  
 **Mawinai** (MA-WI*-NAI) - to clean, to purify  
 **Khawinai** (KHA*-WI-NAI) - to contaminate, to make unclean

 _Mawan_ ' and _khamwehn_ ' are very close to the Muslim concepts of _halal_ and _haram_ , or the Jewish concept of _kosher_. However, the moral component of them is very different. Contamination in Ishvalan religion is a matter of possession or bad energy - if you are willing to do the work of washing it off or purifying yourself, there is no judgement on you as a person. The judgement is reserved for those who do not care about their own impurity, such as _khanuvetosz_ (see sample morphology #2 and notes). Contamination can take various forms; Ishvalans do not eat pork or beef, for example, will not perform alchemy or use things created by alchemy, do not drink standing water, do not eat dairy and meat at the same meal, etc. More serious forms of _khamwehn'_ cannot be purified, such as rape, incest, self-harm or suicide; however, victims of such are not considered to have actively sinned. The perpetrators are exiled, and victims and/or those who have harmed themselves and wish to be exorcised of the spirit causing it are given to the temple to train as members of the priestly caste. The _khamwehn'_ is permanent, but external; the monks-in-training are taught how to keep it at bay and are tasked with a higher standard of _mawan_ as a result. The distinction is that victims of these serious crimes are known as _khaiwonisz,_ whereas rapists, murderers, etc. are _khanuvetosz._


	3. NOUN BASICS & ARTICLES

Nouns, like in English, are words that refer to objects - metaphysical, physical, literal, metaphorical, etc. There are proper nouns (names, titles, etc.), common nouns (referring to common objects that are not one-of-a-kind), and pronouns (words that function as noun phrases and refers either to participants of the conversation or other referenced nouns.)

Nouns in Ishvalan possess number (singular, dual, plural) and gender (masculine/neutral and feminine). Ishvalan is mostly an analytic language, which means that it determines its grammar largely through separate words, with a low morpheme-to-word ratio. (This just means that nouns aren't declined or inflected, like in French; it's much more like English.)

Grammatical determination is done in three ways; **helper words** denoted by word order, **prefixes** and **suffixes.** The only suffixes that matter for Ishvalan nouns are the plural suffixes; prefixes include determiners for the definite article, prepositions, conjunctions, and indicators of negatives and affirmatives.

**Proper and common noun basics**

Gender for Ishvalan is - unfortunately - learned with the word. If you don't know the gender of a noun for whatever reason, the masculine gender is also considered neutral. Ishvalan feminists are trying to combat this, but there are not yet moves towards gender-neutral words. Gender is largely a grammatical concept and - beyond referring to humans or living things - not relevant beyond noun-verb agreement.

The only piece of grammar other than verbs that has to agree with gender and number is the **definite article,** which is also a great way to figure out the gender of a noun if you don't know it. There are six forms of the definite article; the masculine singular and the default is _sho-._

| 

> **SING**

| 

> **DUAL**

| 

> **PLURAL**  
  
---|---|---|---  
  
> **MASC/NEUTER**

| 

> **sho-**

| 

> **shoh-**

| 

> **shoi-**  
  
> **FEMININE**

| 

> **shei-**

| 

> **shai-**

| 

> **sha-**  
  
There is no indefinite article for Ishvalan - the absence of a definite article is an indefinite article. For those not as up on grammar, the definite article translates to 'the' - 'the mother', 'the father', etc. The indefinite article is 'a', 'an', 'some', etc. 

A few words can be used in both masculine and feminine words, most notably 'Ishvala', since he is meant to have both masculine and feminine aspects. As an example, then, see below:

 _sho-Ishvala  
shei-Ishvala  
shoh-Ishvalaz  
_ _shai-Ishvalaz_  
 _shoi-Ishvalasz_  
 _sha-Ishvalasz_

There are few situations in which you will have to refer to Ishvala in the plural, but it works as a grammatical example. -z is the suffix for the dual plural, which refers exclusively to a group of two people. -sz refers to the group plural, which is any group of three or more, or a plural in which you don't care to specify. 

**Prepositions**

Prepositions are words that refer to direction and position, in ways that may not be obvious at first. In English, prepositions include words like, 'in', 'on', 'between', 'to', 'from', 'away', 'beside', 'beyond', 'since', etc.

In Ishvalan, these functions are performed with prefixes. For now, we'll only do some of the more basic ones of these to establish how they work. Prepositions are only ever one or two syllables, with a few exceptions, and often are derived from similar word roots as nouns and verbs.

 **shev -** in, within, into  
 **kish -** outside, out  
 **nav -** above  
 **kanav** \- below, under  
 **nget -** to, unto  
 **angat -** from  
 **asza -** after  
 **nur -** between  
 **uner -** apart  
 **keb** \- of, belonging to, genitive marker  
 **ilor -** against, opposed to, opposite from

 _shev_ comes from the same SH-V-L word root covered in the previous chapter, and so does _kish,_ with the added _k_ negative. Others are derived from the special letter-meaning words (covered in a later chapter), like _nget_ and _angat._

The use of prepositions is easy enough - you just put it on the front of a noun. Proper nouns like Ishvala, while used as a grammatical example above, don't technically require the definite article - therefore you end up with _nget-Ishvala_ for 'to Ishvala', _angat-Ishvala_ for 'from Ishvala', etc. 

For common nouns, however, this gets a little trickier. Let's take _khashval,_ gendered masculine. If you're talking about a random stranger or Amestrian, the same as above applies. _nget-khashval_ translates as 'to/unto a stranger'. However, if you're referring to a specific stranger or group of strangers, you need to use the definite article. There are two ways of doing this. The more formal way is to simply stack the preposition in front of the definite article - _nget-sho-khashval._ However, in more casual Ishvalan, the habit was to blend the two in a compound of sorts. _ngetsho-khashval_ looks much the same, but the accent and articulation is different, and for other prepositions, slurring makes more significant changes; for example, _shev-sho_ becomes _shesho._

The slurred forms of the preposition+definite article are also what make it into Ishvarite. While non-liturgical Ishvalan became less and less used after the destruction of Ishval and the scattering of its people, the prepositional prefixes are some of the most persistent non-Amestrian words in Ishvarite. It's common to hear, for example, "Asza dinner, get kish some fresh air" or "Put that kisho-khamuhwin" in everyday speech. (After dinner, go outside (and) get some fresh air", and "Put that dirty thing outside").


	4. VERB BASICS

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Verb basics, including -ai type verbs, -aj type verbs, and irregular verbs 'to be' and 'to do'.

Verbs in Ishvalan change to agree with the accompanying noun, in GENDER, NUMBER and PERSON. Tense and mood are determined by indicators and not by suffixes.

Verb words build off of the same three-consonant roots as other words, then add -ai to the end; the -ai form is the **infinitive** (to walk, to sing, to pray), and all other forms modify that.

There are three types of **number** for verbs in Ishvalan; single, dual, and plural. The single is used for a single person (I pray, you pray, he/she prays), the dual is for a set of only two people, and the plural is for any group larger than two. The plural can be used casually for only two people, but this is more common in Ishvarite. 

**Example verb: nevat- (root N-V-T; pray/worship/honor/holy)**

Infinitive: nevatai (to pray)

I pray (masc and fem): nevatait / nevateit  
You pray: nevataivu / nevateivu  
He prays: nevatain  
She prays: nevatein  
  
We (two) pray: nevataiszot / nevateiszot  
You (two) pray: nevataiszu / nevateiszu  
They (two) pray: nevataiszen / nevateiszen

We (all) pray: nevataizot / nevateizot  
You (all) pray: nevataizu / nevateizu  
They (all) pray: nevataizen / nevateizen

The vast majority of Ishvalan verbs are conjugated this way, and are -ai type verbs. However, there are a few variations. Below is an example of -aj type verbs. (A reminder; 'j' in Ishvalan is a 'y' sound.) 

**Example verb: kunhukaj (root K-N-K; protect/guard/shield)**

I protect – kunhukajat / kunhukejat  
You protect – kunhukaju / kunhukeju  
He/she protects – kunhukavin / kunhukevin

We (two) protect - kunhukajasz / kunhukejasz  
You (two) protect – kunhukasza / kunhukesza  
They (two) protect – kunhukajensz / kunhukejensz

We (all) protect - kunhukajot / kunhukejot  
You (all) protect – kunhukajazu /kunhukejazu  
They (all) protect – kunhukajen /kunhukejen

Any verb that ends with -aj is conjugated in this way. Additionally, there are a number of irregular verbs. The two most common by far are 'to do' (nekbeshai) and 'to be' (marnai). While they look like -ai type verbs, they have to be learned individually since their conjugation differs notably.

**N-K-B – nekbeshai, to do (irregular)**

I do/perform - nekbeshai / nekbeshei  
you do/perform - nekbeshaivu / nekbesheivu  
he/she does/performs: nekbai / nekbei  
  
we (two) do/perform: naikbezot / neikbezot  
you (two) do/perform: enaikbezu / eneikbezu  
they (two) do/perform: nakbainuz/ nakbeinuz

  
we all do/perform: naikbeszot / neikbeszot  
you all do/perform: enaikbeszu / eneikbeszu   
they all do/perform: nakbainusz /nakbeinusz

**M-R-N – marnai, to be (irregular)**

Infinitive: marnai

I am – marnashai / marnashei  
you are – marn’shaivu / marn'sheivu  
he/she is – marn’shain / marn'shein

  
we (two) are – marnaizot / marneizot  
you (two) are – marnaizu / marneizu  
they (two) are – marnaizen / marneizen

we are (plural) – marnaisz / marneiz  
you are (plural) – marnaiszu / marneiszu  
they are (plural – marnaiszen / marneiszen

\---

With these basic verbs and nouns, you can write simple Ishvalan sentences in the present tense. 

Ex: "The stranger gives a blessing":

stranger: **khashval** ' (kh-SH-V-L) (masc)  
gives: **regedaj** (R-G-D; -aj type)  
blessing: **taimeiru** (T-M-R) (fem)

(the) khashval' regedavin (3rd person singular) taimeru

"khashval'" is singular and masculine here, so the appropriate definite article is 'sho-', and there is no indefinite article.

Ishvalan, like English, uses word order to indicate subject versus object; for simple sentences the order is S V O (subject, verb, object). The subject of the sentence is whatever or whoever is doing the action; in this sentence, the subject is "sho-khashval'". The object is whatever is being acted upon. In this case, that is the blessing - "taimeiru". 

**Sho-khashval' regedaj taimeiru.**

However, if you want to make anything more complicated, it gets tricky. For example, what if the stranger is giving a blessing _to_ somebody? What if the stranger is about to give a blessing? What if he _might_ give a blessing? The next chapter will start talking about indirect objects, and how to use the prepositions that came up in Chapter 3. 


	5. Running Glossary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> N.B. This is not a proper chapter! This is a segment that will always be at the end, and is updated with the current Ishvalan vocabulary list. This is currently in progress so expect a mess. 
> 
> If you use Ishvalan in your fic and end up scrambling for a word, and don't find it here, go ahead and come up with one based on the morphology rules and given groupings, and send it to me! Duplicate or almost-duplicate words are also completely welcome; every language has synonyms. 
> 
> Due to the nature of Ishvalan, this glossary is sorted by root group, which are then put in the order of the shavela (located in chapter 1 for reference). However, within the root groups, words are sorted by the English alphabet. Once this reaches a certain side, I will also make an English-to-Ishvalan one that organizes things by the English alphabet.

**SH (sharu)**

SH-V-L (home, religion, family)

Ishvala: (noun, masculine) the God of the Ishvalans; lit. God or deity in Ishvalan, specifically the Ishvalan deity in Ishvarite usage  
Ishval': (noun, masculine) country/people; lit. country/people in Ishvalan, specifically Ishval' itself in Ishvarite usage  
khashval': (noun, masc) stranger, strange place; used as a derogatory term for non-Ishvalans, usually Amestrians; shortened to 'khashie' in Ishvarite  
khashvazuro, khashvazizu, khashvazan: (adjective) strange, stranger, strangest; also means odd, unfamiliar, unsettling, unknown  
shehveilu: (noun, feminine) house, home  
eshevel: (noun, feminine) family; domestic sphere

**V (vele)**

V-L-R (music, song, story, art)

 **avolara** : (noun, fem) lit; instrumental music, poetic: inner strength or nobility  
 **avol’rai** : (verb) to play instrumental music  
 **uvalra’a** : (noun, fem) song   
**uval’rai** : (verb) to sing  
 **khavalar’** : (noun phrase, masc) end of the song/story/ THE END (lit.); poetic: homecoming or peaceful death; Ishvarite usage 'it's khavalar' to mean it's over and done with, out of their hands, can't be changed, etc.  
 **sum-khavalar** : (noun phrase, masc) related to 'khavalar' but used more with children as a euphemism for death; think 'going to a nice farm' or 'passed on'.   
**uveler’** : (noun, masc) voice, vocals, vocal cords  
 **uvelira** : (noun, fem) vocal music, singing, song with lyrics; poetic: inner dignity or kindness, idiomatic expression 'avolara, uvelira' trans. alternately as 'music and lyrics', 'grace and strength', meaning you cannot have one without the other.  
 **vilora** : (noun, fem) instrument (any); used on its own can connote an Ishvalan flute, particularly in Ishvarite  
 **vel’ri** : (noun, masc) story, narrative, tale; in Ishvarite means a cautionary fable as stereotypically told by Ishvalan grandmothers.  
 **vel’rai** : (verb) to tell a story  
 **v’leir’** : (noun, masc) musician

**M (marun)**

M-W-N (clean, cleanliness, purity)

 **mehweinu** : (noun, masc) washbasin, sink  
 **imwana** : (noun, masc) a state of holiness/sacredness  
 **imwan** ': (collective noun, masc) the chosen people; a secondary name for the Ishvalan people used post-diaspora  
 **mawan** ': (noun, fem) cleanliness, purity  
 **khamwehn** : (noun, fem) contamination, the state of or source of contamination. N.B. 'Contamination' is the closest translation, but 'khamwehn' does not have the same moral implications as 'contamination' in English, and this has actually caused problems when trying to articulate the concept of khamwehn in Amestrian.  
 **khaiwoni** : (noun, masc) a contaminated person

**N (nara)**

N-V-T (pray/worship/honour)

 **anvat'va, anvat'vazu, anvat'an** (adj, irreg.): honored, more honored, most honored  
 **anvat'** (noun): honor  
 **invata** (noun, fem): holy ground  
 **khanuvet'** (noun, masc): heretic, enemy of Ishval/the Ishvalan people, somebody who is a **khaiwoni** but refusing to acknowledge or correct it.   
**khanuvohti** (noun, masc): heresy, the act of heresy, aggression towards Ishvalan teachings  
 **khanehvitai** (verb): to dishonour/disrespect  
 **khanvat'** (noun): dishonor  
 **khanvazuro, khanvazizu, khanvazan:** (adj) dishonored/disrespected/shamed, more shamed, most shamed; poetic texts sometimes use **khanvat'va, etc.** instead **  
nevatai** (verb): to pray  
 **navat'** (noun, fem): temple, place of worship; in Ishvarite means specifically Ishvalan-style temples, but in Ishvalan itself can also refer to churches, etc.

**NG (ngota)**

-NG-R-T (darkness, night)

-NGA-ROI-TEH (shadow)  
-Ngaratan (fem) - darkness  
-KHA-NGE-RU-T’ (day/brightness) (masc)  
-ING-RA-T’ (what lives in darkness; demons; unseen things)  
-NGE-REI-TAI (for darkness to fall, for night to come, to get dark – hard to translate)  
-U-NGI-RA-TI (mother)

**R (ruri)**

R-G-D – give, donate, charity, offering

 **rogaida** (noun, fem): gift, present, offering **  
** **ragudai** (verb): to bestow, give (downwards), in holy/monarchical context; poetic: give of abstract concepts, such as the heart or the soul  
 **regedaj** (verb): to give to another person, more normal use

**T (toine)**

T-M-R (to bless, to make holy, blessings)

 **etemara, etemarazu, etemarazan** (adj, irregular): blessed, fortunate; more blessed/fortunate; most fortunate **  
taimeiru** (noun, fem): blessing  
 **tamawerai** (verb): to purify  
 **tomerai** (verb): to bless


End file.
